This Diwali, Punekars choose light over noise

It appears that more and more Punekars are warming up to the idea of celebrating festivals the eco-friendly way. And the upcoming festival of Diwali is its testament.

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According to Vijaykumar Arora, who has been in the fireworks business for the last 40 years, demand for crackers that make less noise is on the rise with each passing year.

“Crackers that make less noise are in demand this year, as awareness campaigns against noise pollution during Diwali has struck a chord with the citizens.

Of the total demand for crackers, 70 per cent is for those that are less or not noisy at all. These days, people want crackers that emit different colours. Crackers like rockets are a huge hit” he said.

Seconding Arora’s claims, his counterpart Vijay Agrawal added that crackers have become expensive by eight per cent to 13 per cent due to which the demand has taken a hit. Agarwal has been in this business for the last 30 years.

Officialspeak R B Sorte, scientific officer at the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), said, “It has been observed that awareness amongst the people against noise pollution has increased.

Though the noise pollution is high on the day of Laxmi Pujan, it dips considerably on the remaining days of diwali. We are also keeping a tab on noise levels in different areas.”

At a recently conducted noise test, MPCB officials stood four metres away from the spot where the crackers burst to check their loudness. The testing was done at the MIT College cricket ground in Kothrud.